Cascadian Farm Organic Goodness

On Friday August 20th, a group of Cascadian Farm employees, and their friends and families enjoyed a beautiful Skagit Valley day, and took part in a longstanding tradition: we hiked up to the top of Sauk Mountain for a mile-high picnic, and then came back down to the farm to pick a basket of our mouth-watering organic blueberries. This has been an annual event for Cascadian Farm and Small Planet Foods employees for the last 7 years!

Check out the Flickr set for this event!

Last week we snapped a few photos of the Blueberry Picker and showed them to you on Facebook. Here is a video of it being assembled. Farmer Jim is pretty excited to show it off. Enjoy!

Have you had a chance to pick fresh organic blueberries this year? In Washington state, we're at the tale end of our picking season. So if you haven't yet...you should soon!

Hello Friends! We’ve been extremely busy on the farm lately as we’re in the middle of our blueberry harvest. It’s an exciting time for us because we get to see all of our hard work pay off with plump, juicy berries ready to be picked.

With all the excitement surrounding the blueberry harvest, we figured it would be a great time to do a “Best of Blueberries” post, highlighting some of the blueberry posts that we have done over the last year. So here it is, the best of. Enjoy!

Farmer Jim's Organic Advice- Farmer Jim let's you in on his secret to growing such delicious organic blueberries.

Behind The Crop: The Blueberry- Take a look at all the great health benefits of blueberries and why they are referred to as a "super food". You’ll also find some amazing blueberry recipes.

Vanilla Blueberry Almond Bread- Kari Burks shares a wonderful recipe inspired by her favorite, Vanilla Blueberry Almond Pancakes. Thanks Kari!

This past weekend I was on a mission. Inspired by an amazing stack of Vanilla Blueberry Almond Pancakes (at my favorite breakfast spot, the Coffee Cup) I was determined to bake a loaf of bread that combined those delicious flavors. And since I love baking Banana Bread, because it’s so quick and easy, I wanted to come up with a bread recipe for the summer time – using blueberries. This bread makes a perfect breakfast or snack with your afternoon tea. Add a glaze, it’s a tasty dessert. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did – I baked 3 loaves!

1 cup organic blueberries, washed and dried

1/4 cup sliced almonds (plus a few more to sprinkle on top)

1 ½ cup all-purpose flour (plus ¼ cup to coat berries & nuts)

1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (not quick-cooking)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

2 teaspoons vanilla

Pre-heat the oven to 325°. Grease a 8.5” x 4.5” loaf pan.

Toss the berries and almonds with 1/4 cup of flour to keep them from sinking in the batter.

In a large bowl, combine 1 ½ cups of flour, oats, baking powder and salt. In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar, eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla. Add the liquids to the dry ingredients and stir gently until just combined. Fold in the almonds and blueberries.

Pour the batter into the greased loaf pan and bake for 55 - 65 minutes, rotating the pan partway through. Allow bread to cool completely before slicing.

Photos by Kari Burks

I recently had the opportunity to take a trip out to the Cascadian Farm Home Farm in Concrete, Washington. I was traveling for work, and the stars aligned that made it possible for me to get there, and I am so glad I did.

Prior to going, all I'd been told about the home farm was that it was magical, and since my arrival to the Cascades was in the middle of the night, I had no idea what I was walking into the next morning.

It was cold and foggy that morning, but that didn't stop us from heading out to the farm early. We poked around, watching the water in the river and the fog lifting over the rows of blueberries. Not even the roadside stand was open yet.

But the pests and critters were out, making their way across the path, and I may have stepped on a few before I realized they were covering the road. I would later learn from Farmer Jim that one way of dealing with slugs is running them over or cutting them in half.

Our official tour started in the barn and quickly moved over to the strawberry fields that were being picked for sale at the stand and that would later end up in my strawberry coffee cake.

Farmer Jim was a fantastic host, explaining his method of crop rotation, detailing how he cares for each plant that's growing and pest control. I learned several practices I want to put in place for my own backyard garden about my small strawberry patch, the new raspberries I planted and the tomatoes that I struggle to keep under control. The home farm grows tomatoes and peppers in the greenhouse to sell at the roadside stand in later months.

And as strawberry season was soon going to come to a close, he gave us the official tour of the new raspberry plants that were just starting to ripen. This was the first full season since planting this variety, and Farmer Jim was excited about the earlier harvest they would yield.

We spent quite a bit of time in the blueberry field, and I got an in-person speech from Farmer Jim on how to grow blueberries organically. I've been dreaming of trying my hand at blueberries, and now I know how to compost and cover my blueberries with sawdust to create the appropriate conditions for them to flourish in.

As my tour and stay at the farm came to close, I instantly called my husband to ask him if we could move there, and then, more seriously, I told him Farmer Jim should be the voice for organic farming across the U.S. I was absolutely smitten as he broke down the hows and whys of organic farming, and it made me think back to my childhood when those methods were still covered in school.

What will my children learn about food production? Will they be told we create seeds in a lab so they can tolerate being sprayed with as many chemicals as we can throw at them? I know that I'm glad I have Cascadian Farm and other organic brands fighting to bring back traditional methods of growing crops and farming for a sustainable future for my children.

If you're ever in the Seattle area, do take the time to make a visit up to the farm. The North Cascades Highway is a great drive, and the farm is well worth the journey up there. Plus, who doesn't want homemade ice cream at the roadside stand? If you happen to be there in the fall, I'm told the pumpkin patch and sunflowers are quite the photo opp.

Photos by Shaina Olmanson

What's not to love about blueberries? At Cascadian Farm, we love blueberries so much, we grow five different varieties (Spartan, Toro, Bluecrop, Jersey and Patriot)! Each variety has it's own unique taste, but one thing's for sure, they're all delicious. Aside from taste, blueberries are one of the most health-rewarding fruits that we can eat. It's no wonder they're commonly referred to as a "super food".

Let's take a look at all the benefits of eating this amazing fruit:

• Packed with antioxidants that reduce the risk of cancer, heart disease and the effects of aging.
• Boost urinary tract health, protecting from infection
• Help transport energy to your brain, stimulating the communication between brain cells
• Known to improve eyesight
• Excellent source of vitamin A, vitamin C, potassium and fiber
• Help reduce gastrointestinal tract inflammation
• Low in calories
• Fat-free

As you can see, there's no wonder we all shouldn't be eating more blueberries, especially organic blueberries, like the ones we grow, without the use of pesticides. They taste good and they're good for our health!

Aside from just popping them in your mouth, there are many great ways to incorporate blueberries into your diet. Here are a couple of wonderful blueberry recipes to share with your family (click the image to see the full recipe). And if you happen to have a great recipe you'd like to share, leave it in the comment box below or post it on our facebook page.

Country Blueberry Dessert

Blueberry Smoothies

Whole Wheat- Blueberry Muffins

During the winter, I miss the fresh produce of spring and summer. I long for my grocery basket brimming with berries and veggies straight from the soil at our local farmer’s market.

But fortunately, we have lots of wonderful frozen fruit and vegetable options these days to keep us going through these cold, long months.

My favorite frozen food that my family eats every single day is blueberries! We add them to cereal, smoothies or eat them plain. My kids love them, I love them, and they are oh so packed with vitamins and nutrients – it is win, win, win!

If you and your kids are missing the sweet pies and treats from the holiday season, but you are trying to trim off the fat this New Year, here is a super simple treat that I whip up for my family: Steamed Apples and Blueberries.

Ingredients

3 apples, peeled and sliced

2 cups frozen blueberries

2 tsp corn starch

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tbsp lemon juice

½ cup water

Directions

Toss sliced apples in lemon juice, cinnamon, and nutmeg

Add apple mixture, blueberries and water to saucepan

Cover and bring to a boil

Reduce heat and keep covered to steam apples (you may want to check periodically to ensure there is still enough liquid and it doesn’t burn)

When apples are tender, mix corn starch with a splash of water and stir into sauce to thicken

Once sauce is thickened, allow to cool for 3-10 minutes before serving

Serve warm (add a dollop of whipped topping or cream if desired)

The blueberries grown on Cascadian Farm were one of the most magical elements of my visit there.  Part of the charm of the blueberries is their delicious taste and the number of varieties available on the Farm (Spartan, Toro, Bluecrop, Jersey and Patriot).  The other piece is how the blueberries, and most of the fruit at the Farm is pollinated.

Very basically, blueberries need bees need to pollinate them.  The bees move from blueberry flower to blueberry flower, and are essential to pollinating not only the blueberries, but also the strawberries and raspberries on the Farm. Pollination is not a new concept by any means, but Farmer Jim Meyer doesn’t just rely on his native pollinators, he brings in an extra supply.

We have four different organic farming programs here at Cascadian Farm.  But the goal of each is the same: produce great tasting organic crops that contribute to better health for consumers and the environment!

• Cascadian Home Farm. Our original farm, founded in 1972 by Gene Kahn, is considered the "heart & soul" of the company. Operated as a small organic farm (28 farmable acres), the farm's focus is on producing organic fresh produce (berries & vegetables) for sale to local retailers and to visitors at our roadside Farm Stand. Our main crop is organic blueberries... yummy! And our organic ice cream is to die for!

One of the goals of Cascadian Farm is educating people about the basics of organic farming. As I mentioned in my last post, scattered among the lower farm fields is a self-guided tour, for folks that stop off at the Roadside Stand and are interested in learning a little bit more about what goes on at the Farm.

Since some of you might never make it to the amazing Skagit Valley, I thought I would take you though a part of the Farm Tour here on the blog. It's a little technical, but also pretty darn interesting!